A half-decade after "Laugh-In" and a half-decade before "Private Benjamin," Goldie Hawn reveals that she not only has beautiful thighs (which the director takes very opportunity to remind us) but that she can act. Hawn herself takes every opportunity to develop a well-rounded character given a script that doesn't invite it - she exhibits a wide range of responses that the director doesn't really ask of any other actor.Otherwise, the film is a confused mess. Beautiful location photography, and not much else. The story-line is a real jumble. If I cared about the characters I might have invested more in following it, but there's no reason to care about these lowlives, they have no direction and no motivation beyond greed.At one point George Segal squeezes Hawn's breasts publicly and exclaims 'honk honk!" First, this is anachronistic (it references automobile horns not yet in use in the movie's culture), second, it is degrading, and third - most importantly - it is not funny. It needs a "topper," some remark that would give it comedic relevance. Director Frank's attempt at a topper is for Segal to repeat the line twice. I am not amused.A botched job, only interesting for Hawn fans.

1976 was probably a crucial year in gauging the status of the Western as a feasible Hollywood film genre: apart from well-regarded titles like THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES and THE RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE, you had to contend with some notorious flops, of both the art-house – Robert Altman's BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS OR, SITTING BULL'S HISTORY LESSON and Arthur Penn's THE MISSOURII BREAKS – and the spoof – THE DUCHESS AND THE DIRTWATER FOX and THE GREAT SCOUT AND CATHOUSE THURSDAY (which I've yet to catch up with) – variety. The star rating I gave to the film in question is an indication that it wasn't, in fact, as disastrous as contemporary (and even more recent, in view of its release on DVD) reviews would have you believe and I'd say it's even worthy of earning a place in my collection…which should, of course, imply that it has rewatchability value.Goldie Hawn, George Segal and his amiably clumsy horse Blackjack are practically the whole show here and this is clearly one of those movies which rely heavily on the charisma (or lack thereof) of its leads for its success or otherwise. The screenplay does have some good lines – including an amusingly protracted stagecoach conversation (supposedly in French) between the two stars which actually incorporates slangy English, French, Italian, Spanish and some Latin, too – but the plot is rather too thin to sustain the film's length. Hawn is a saloon entertainer/hooker with ideas above her station: she gets to wear tarty outfits, sing a bawdy song in an English accent and board the aforementioned stagecoach to become "The Duchess" of the title, an English governess to a host of kids borne by a wealthy Mormon; on the other hand, Segal is a luckless womanizing cardsharp who keeps getting caught cheating and finding himself at the wrong end of the noose; he eventually manages to abscond with $40,000 in stolen loot to the eternal chagrin of a ramshackle band of outlaws. The bag containing the money changes owners more often than these characters take a bath and, along the way, Hawn and Segal finally make love aboard a canoe approaching some deadly rapids, take refuge in a Jewish wedding ceremony and are bound together and left to roast under the baking desert sun. The change in mood towards the end – where Segal is repeatedly shot in the final confrontation with the gang – is far from smoothly handled but the open-ended conclusion nevertheless manages to end the film on a lighter note.

Supposedly a Western, romantic-comedy, this film fails on most levels. Oh, it's not that it's that bad. It's not terrible. It's even mildly amusing in spots. But it had a great deal of promise, and didn't fulfill any of it. George Segal was trying to come off as the lovable rogue, but succeeded only in the rogue part. His character was crooked and churlish. Goldie Hawn did what she did (and still does) best: peg the needle on the cute-o-meter. Her character was pretty non-admirable as well, a prostitute and a con artist. At least the photography of the Colorado countryside was nice, and the direction was unobtrusive. I remember liking this film in the distant past, but a recent viewing made me wonder why. Check it out to see Goldie look cute, but don't expect anything more.

The 'comedy' western is a bit like a situation comedy with horses and six shooters thrown in and a bit of action in case the laughs are thin on the ground. and in this movie the laughs (and the thrills) are as thin on the ground as grass in a desert.George Segal tries hard in the 'lovable rogue' lead - a sort of bargain basement 'Maverick' but he is undercut by a poor script and the millstone of Goldie Hawn - who does little beyond flash her red undies at the camera at every opportunity as if this might distract the viewer from the meagre contribution she makes to the movie.This is the West That Never Was beloved of peddlers of cliche and writers of cheap 1960's and 70's TV series, with the intendedly humourously amoral lead duo pursued about a pretty landscape by the gang that couldn't shoot straight and sundry other less than menacing foes.Notable is the lack of 'name' supporting players any of whom might have upstaged Ms Hawn by showing comedic talent, rather than legs. Rating: A sonorous 3 out of 10